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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A machine for producing signatures and forming trimmed books therefrom
comprising: a roll stand having spaced spindles for supporting rolled webs
of paginated printed material at least of double page width, said webs
being punched along at least one edge with equidistantly spaced openings
enabling the webs to be registered for proper pagination head-to-foot, a
pin register belt disposed to travel beneath the spindles and having the
register pins thereof spaced to register with the holes in the webs, feed
means to withdraw the webs from their rolls, glue means for applying glue
longitudinally between the webs approximately midway of the transverse web
width, a knife at one end of the pin register belt, guide means to
continuously place the webs one juxtaposed on another on the traveling pin
register belt which advances the justaposed webs to the knife where the
webs are severed transversely to produce juxtaposed sheets of multi page
width joined by a glue joint, a folder for folding the juxtaposed sheets
along the glue joint to produce a signature with a back and having the
openings presented at an extended lap margin opposite the resultant back
of the signature, means to transfer the juxtaposed sheets from the knife
to the folder, a saddle-type conveyor adjacent the folder, means to
deliver the signature from the folder to the saddle conveyor including a
lap opener for divaricating the folded signature so the backbone thereof
fits the saddle conveyor, and a trimmer downstream of the lap opener
effective to separate the lap margins containing the register openings as
waste.
2. A machine according to claim 1 having a separate signature feeder
disposed at a point along the saddle conveyor spaced from the lap opener
to deliver a second signature to the conveyor, timing means to time
signature delivery so that the two signatures are gathered together on the
conveyor one atop another, and means to stitch the gathered signatures.
3. A machine according to claim 1 having caliper means disposed between the
lap opener and the trimmer to detect an imperfect signature due to the
trailing end of an exhausted web spliced to the leading end of a fresh
web, and means in advance of the trimmer to eject the imperfect signature.
4. A machine according to claim 2 having caliper means disposed between the
lap opener and the trimmer to detect an imperfect signature due to the
trailing end of an exhausted web spliced to the leading end of a fresh
web, and means in advance of the trimmer to eject the imperfect signature.
5. A machine for producing signatures and forming trimmed books therefrom
comprising: a roll stand having spaced spindles for supporting rolled webs
of paginated printed material at least of double page width, said webs
being punched along at least one edge with equidistantly spaced holes
enabling the webs to be registered for proper pagination head-to-foot, a
pin register belt disposed to travel along a first path beneath the
spindles and having the register pins thereof spaced to register with the
holes in the webs, feed means to withdraw the webs from their rolls, glue
means for applying glue longitudinally between the webs substantially
midway of the transverse web width, a knife at one end of the pin register
belt, guide means to continuously place the webs one juxtaposed on another
on the pin register belt which advances the juxtaposed webs to the knife
where the webs are severed transversely to produce juxtaposed sheets of
multiple page width joined by glue, a folder for folding the juxtaposed
sheets along the glue to produce a glued signature having the holes
presented at an extended lap margin opposite the resultant backbone of the
signature, feed means to transfer the sheets from the knife to the folder
along a path substantially at right angles to the first-named path, a
saddle-type conveyor adjacent the folder, said conveyor extending along a
path substantially parallel to the first-named path, means to deliver the
signature from the folder to the saddle conveyor including a lap opener
for divaricating the folded signature so the backbone thereof fits the
saddle conveyor, and a trimmer downstream of the lap opener effective to
separate the lap margins containing the register openings as waste.
6. A machine according to claim 5 having a separate signature feeder
disposed at a point along the saddle conveyor spaced from the lap opener
to deliver a second signature to the conveyor, timing means to time
signature delivery so that the two signatures are gathered together on the
conveyor one atop another, and means to stitch the gathered signatures.
7. A machine according to claim 6 having caliper means disposed between the
lap opener and the trimmer to detect an imperfect signature due to the
trailing end of an exhausted web spliced to the leading end of a fresh
web, and means in advance of the trimmer to eject the imperfect signature.
8. A machine according to claim 5 having caliper means disposed between the
lap opener and the trimmer to detect an imperfect signature due to the
trailing end of an exhausted web spliced to the leading end of a fresh
web, and means in advance of the trimmer to eject the imperfect signature.
9. A machine for producing signatures and forming trimmed books therefrom
comprising: a roll stand having spaced spindles for supporting rolled webs
of paginated printed material at least of double page width, means to
unwind web lengths from their rolls, means to register the unwound web
lengths for proper pagination in heat-to-foot juxtaposed relation, glue
means for applying glue longitudinally between the unwound web lengths
along a glue line laterally displaced from the center line of the webs, a
knife for severing the webs transversely to produce juxtaposed sheets of
two-page width joined by glue, means to advance the juxtaposed registered
webs to the knife, means for folding the juxtaposed sheets along the glue
line to produce a signature having an extended lap margin, means to
transfer the juxtaposed sheets from the knife to the folding means, a
saddle-type conveyor adjacent the folding means, means to deliver the
glued signature from the folding means to the saddle conveyor including a
lap opener for divaricating the glued signature to fit the saddle
conveyor, and a trimmer downstream of the lap opener effective to separate
the lap margins.
10. A machine according to claim 9 having a separate signature feeder
disposed at a point along the saddle conveyor spaced from the lap opener
to deliver a second signature to the conveyor, timing means to time
signature delivery so that the two signatures are gathered together on the
conveyor one atop another, and means to stitch the gathered signatures.
11. A machine according to claim 10 having caliper means disposed between
the lap opener and the trimmer to detect an imperfect signature due to the
trailing end of an exhausted web spliced to the leading end of a fresh
web, and means in advance of the trimmer to eject the imperfect signature.
12. A machine according to claim 9 having caliper means disposed between
the lap opener and the trimmer to detect an imperfect signature due to the
trailing end of an exhausted web spliced to the leading end of a fresh
web, and means in advance of the trimmer to eject the imperfect signature.
13. A method for producing signatures and forming books therefrom
comprising: supporting rolled webs of paginated printed material of double
page width, said webs being punched along at least one edge with
equidistantly spaced holes enabling the webs to be registered for proper
pagination head-to-foot, unwinding the rolled webs and applying a bead of
glue longitudinally between the webs, substantially midway of the traverse
web width, delivering the glued webs in juxtaposed registered form to a
knife, cutting the juxtaposed webs traversely to produce juxtaposed sheets
of two-page width joined by a bead of glue, folding the juxtaposed sheets
along the glue bead to form a signature having a short margin and having
the holes presented at an extended lap margin, divaricating the lap margin
and the short margin to open the folded signature, delivering the opened
signature on a saddle-type conveyor, and conveying the signature
downstream to a trimmer where the lap margin is severed as waste.
14. A method according to claim 13 including the step of delivering a
second signature to the conveyor at a point spaced from the point of
delivery of the first-named signature, delivering the signatures to the
conveyor in timed relation so that one is gathered atop the other on the
conveyor, and stitching the gathered signatures to form a book.
15. A method according to claim 13 including the step of splicing the
trailing end of an exhausted web to the leading end of a fresh web,
calipering the signatures on the conveyor to detect an imperfect signature
containing the splice, and ejecting the imperfect signature upstream of
trimming.
16. A method according to claim 14 including the step of splicing the
trailing end of an exhausted web to the leading end of a fresh web,
calipering the signatures on the conveyor to detect an imperfect signature
containing the splice, and ejecting the imperfect signature upstream of
trimming.
17. A method for producing signatures and forming books therefrom
comprising: supporting rolled webs of paginated printed material having
register holes along at least one edge of each web, withdrawing web
lengths from the rolls and registering the web lengths in juxtaposed
relation for proper pagination head-to-foot, applying glue to one of the
webs between the pages thereof and joining the webs thereby in registered
form at a glue joint, advancing the joined and juxtaposed webs to a knife
where the juxtaposed webs are cut transversely to the glue joint to
produce juxtaposed signature sheets of at least two-page width joined by
glue, folding the sheets along the glue joint to produce a signature
having a glued back and a lap margin with the register holes in the lap
margin, opening the signature at the lap margin and delivering the opened
signature to a saddle type conveyor, delivering a second signature to the
saddle conveyor and timing delivery thereof so that the two signatures are
gathered together one atop another on the conveyor, trimming off the lap
margins and conveying the gathered signatures to a binder where the
signatures are bound at their backs.
18. A method according to claim 17 including the step of splicing the
trailing end of an exhausted web to the leading end of a fresh web,
calipering the gathered signatures to detect an imperfect signature
characterized by the splice, and separating the imperfect signature.
19. A machine for producing signatures and forming books therefrom
comprising: a roll stand having spaced spindles for supporting rolled webs
of paginated printed material wherein each web has register holes along
one edge, means to withdraw web lengths from the rolls, means to register
the withdrawn web lengths for proper pagination in head-to-foot juxtaposed
relation, glue means for applying glue between the web lengths to join the
web lengths in registered form at a glue joint, a knife and means to
advance the juxtaposed webs to the knife along a predetermined path where
the webs are severed to produce juxtaposed sheets joined by glue, a folder
for folding the juxtaposed sheets along the glue to produce a signature
having a back, the glue and knife means being positioned in cooperation
with the folder so that the folder produces a signature with an extended
lap margin containing the register holes, means to transfer the juxtaposed
sheets from the knife to the folder, a saddle type conveyor adjacent the
folder, means to deliver the signature from the folder to the saddle
conveyor including a signature opener for divaricating the signature by
means of the lap margin to fit the saddle conveyor, and means for removing
the lap margins.
20. A machine according to claim 19 including a separate signature feeder
disposed at a point along the saddle conveyor spaced from the signature
opener to deliver a second signature to the conveyor, timing means to time
delivery of the signatures so that the two signatures are gathered
together on the conveyor one atop another, and means to bind the backs of
the gathered signatures. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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This invention relates to sheet handling apparatus and in particular to
machines for gathering signatures, a signature being a folded sheet that
is to become part of a book such as a magazine.
Signature gathering machines are primarily of two kinds. There is the
saddle gatherer in which the sheets of the signatures are spread apart and
dropped on a support which is in the form of two plates forming an
inverted V from which the "saddle" designation is derived. This saddle
support extends past the hoppers or pockets from which the signatures are
fed, and a conveyor chain presenting feeder pins moves along a slot at the
top of the saddle support in such fashion as to move the first signature
on the saddle support to the second pocket where the second signature is
gathered atop the first one, the procedure being repeated at each
successive pocket until all the signatures comprising the book have been
gathered one atop another. The signatures thus gathered by the saddle type
gatherer have their backbones or folds nested one in another and are
joined by staples applied colineally with the fold line at the backbone of
the book. A magazine thus produced is the familiar one where the piercing
ends of the joining staples are revealed when the magazine is spread at
the center. In effect the staples penetrate only half the pages.
The other principal type of signature gatherer, the flat gatherer, is
characterized by feeding the signatures in flat form, on their sides, so
to speak, to a conveyor. Again, the conveyor moves past the pockets which
contain the signatures, and the signatures are fed out of the pockets as
the conveyor moves therepast so that the signatures are collected one on
top of the other. In the instance of flat gathering, the backbones of the
signatures, instead of being nested one inside another, are juxtaposed one
on another to present a square back rather than a V-shaped back for the
book, the staples penetrating the book from front to back, transverse to
the backbone; or no staples at all, as in glue binding, or perfect
binding.
The present machine embodies features of saddle gathering and flat
gathering in that signatures in a flat state are divaricated to fit a
saddle conveyor and are then conveyed to a saddle stitcher.
Previously, and to the best of our knowledge, there have been two forms of
flat gathering machines for signatures. The more traditional one is the
so-called arm gatherer in which an oscillating arm having a gripper
thereon withdraws the signature from a pocket and then drops the signature
on the conveyor. A very complex mechanism is required in order to account
for reliable operation, and in effect one-half of a cycle is lost in that
the arm accomplishes no useful work during that part of the machine cycle
in which it returns to the pocket to grab the next signature or sheet.
This objection to the arm gatherer is obviated by the other type of flat
gatherer in which a gripper on a cylinder extracts the signature from its
pocket and transfers it to a second cylinder in one-half cycle of
revolution. In the second half-cycle of the same or first cylinder, a
second signature is withdrawn from the pocket and is transferred to the
second cylinder, and during the same second half-cycle the second cylinder
is depositing the first signature fed thereto on the conveyor. In effect,
and for all practical purposes, no time is lost because when a sheet is
moving from the first cylinder to the second cylinder, the first cylinder
is ready to pick up a second sheet so that two sheets are transferred in
one cycle. Nonetheless, a great deal of space is required in that there
are two cylinders between the pocket and the conveyor, and the signature
needs to be transferred from one cylinder to another before being dropped
on the conveyor.
One object of the present invention is to so employ a unique flat gathering
principle as to require minimum handling of sheet material being
transferred to a conveyor, while utilizing a machine cycle to maximum
advantage, in completing transfer to the conveyor. As will be shown, two
sets of sheet material are transferred in one cycle, and yet only a single
cylinder is used between the conveyor and the source of the sheet
material. In effect, then, we combine the advantages of the two known
kinds of flat gatherers while eliminating the disadvantages, and so to do
constitutes another object of the present invention.
Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to create a unique
flat gathering principle characterized as follows: A cylinder rotates
between the conveyor to which the sheet material is to be delivered and
the means which supplies sheet material. The cylinder carries grippers
spaced substantially 180.degree. apart so that sheet material is handled
by the cylinder in each half-cycle of the machine. The sheet material on
the cylinder is moved downwardly along an arcuate path represented by the
rotation of the cylinder until it attains a releasing position just above
the conveyor at which point the gripper is opened and the sheet released.
At about this time the second gripper on the cylinder commences to deliver
additional sheet material.
By employing this principle of rotary delivery or transfer, it is possible
to transfer sheet material at an exceptionally high rate. In fact, the
rate of delivery can be such that sheet material being dropped on the
conveyor must be dropped atop the feeder pins which are already in
engagement with the trailing edge of the previous sheet material. The
principle just mentioned may be extended to produce books from roll fed
webs as will be explained.
As noted above, the books produced by gathering signatures one on top of
the other may be in the form of magazines. In fact, the present invention
may have its greatest utility in terms of gathering signatures for
magazines in a demographic sense. What we mean by demographic gathering of
a signature is this: The magazine publisher may produce different forms of
the same edition, which is to say that the production of the weekly
edition may involve a variance in context either in geographic terms or
vocational terms, or both. Thus the magazines intended for Midwest U.S.A.
reading may have text matter differing from the same edition to be mailed
to readers in the Southwest U.S.A. The difference may only be
advertisements, but in any event demographic gathering assumes that the
signatures contained in one pocket of the machine may or may not be
delivered for the book being compiled. There may be variance in the same
demographic sense for professions or vocations: housewives are to get a
cake mix recipe whilst all unmarrieds are to get a travel advertisement.
A conveyor used to gather the signatures is usually quite long. There may
be as many as 50 or 60 pockets arranged in a row parallel to the path of
the conveyor. This requires a great deal of floor space, and therefore
another object of the present invention is to considerably reduce the
amount of floor space required for demographic signature gathering.
Specifically, this object is achieved by placing at least some of the
feeder pockets in tandem, themselves feeding signatures selectively (e.g.
demographically) to a side conveyor which moves the signatures to the main
conveyor. The main conveyor is where the signatures are gathered into the
book, and it may be characteristic of either a flat gatherer or a saddle
gatherer. Thus, under this object, there will be at least two pockets in
tandem, one containing an A signature and one containing a B signature.
One of these signatures, or neither one, may be required for the book
being compiled. This arrangement of tandem pockets, feeding to a secondary
conveyor transverse to the main primary conveyor on which the signatures
are gathered, will be repeated in many rows transverse to the main
conveyor.
For many years book binders employing signature gathering machines have
been confronted with a labor cost recognized by many experts in the field
as constituting a productivity impediment, an impediment which experts
have sought to surmount without practical success. The impediment is that
persons must be engaged in constant attendance at the signature gathering
machine, loading the hoppers with signatures, and other persons must be
necessarily engaged in maintaining the line of supply which literally
extends to the loading dock of the plant where the signatures are printed
and folded. It can be said in fact that the rate of gathering signatures
is limited by the manual effort of keeping the hoppers filled.
As already noted, a large number of hoppers supplying the gathering chain
presents another and quite different problem, namely space, because the
usual arrangement is linear, covering a stretch of considerable length.
We have addressed these problems for a long time, particularly in terms of
utilizing space to better advantage, as in our parent patent application,
and also in terms of the technology set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,512,
where books are produced as an incident to unwinding rolls of printed,
paginated webs of paper. Under the disclosure of that patent, the webs are
registered in juxtaposed relation and glue is deposited between the webs
at the page separations; afterwards the webs are cut along the glue lines
to produce separate, individual sheets which may then be collected and
bound as case bound or perfect bound books.
We have experimented at considerable cost and time for the past several
years with ways to produce glue-backed signatures as distinguished from
individual sheets glued back-to-back along their free edges. We had in
mind an object of the present disclosure to produce books from signatures
that need not necessarily be stitched and in which production would not
require hoppers for storing the signatures.
It was ultimately realized that the disclosure in our parent patent
application, of which this application is a continuation-in-part,
furnished a clue. The clue was the idea in said parent patent application
of feeding signatures in a flat state to a so-called gathering chain which
in turn would advance the signatures one-by-one to a signature opener (lap
opener) where each signature is divaricated or opened as an incident to
gathering like-fed signatures on a saddle-type conveyor employed for
saddle stitching.
The present disclosure, then, is an elaboration and synthesis stemming from
two unrelated concepts. The synthesis is the concept that the proposal of
registered, juxtaposed, paginated webs as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,512,
could be modified to create flat signature pre-forms of double page width
represented by glue-joined sheets severed from the webs, fed by the
aforesaid flat gatherer to a folder, folded along the glue joint to create
a folded signature with a glued backbone, and the folded signature then
divaricated to fit a saddle conveyor. The signature would be unusual in
being folded along a glued back and presenting eight glue-interlocked
pages in the instance of two juxtaposed webs of double page width.
The flat gather could feed at right angles to the saddle conveyor as in the
parent patent application, allowing additional signature feeders to be
used either upstream or downstream of the delivery point of the glued
signature. Registration of the juxtaposed sheets would be maintained by
the glue joint; the adhesive, being wet, would facilitate a good fold. By
using web feed to create signatures, the problem of loading hoppers is
substantially reduced.
There is perhaps no better way to maintain web registry than by holes in
the webs spaced to fit pin belts. Likewise, there is perhaps no better way
to divaricate a flat, folded signature to fit a saddle conveyor than to
fold the signature off-center to result in an extended lap edge or margin
which can be gripped as an incident to opening the signatures. Under the
present invention, and as a further object, we combine these practices of
web registration and signature opening in an unusual way to conserve paper
(reduce waste) by having the web registry holes present at only one edge
of each web and subsequently folding so that the registry openings are at
the lap edge of the signature, an edge which is invariably trimmed to
produce a book having a neat front. In this way, signatures with lap
margins are produced, the registry holes being restricted to the lap
margin which is invariably trimmed off.
The aspect of the present invention under consideration contemplates
continuous production of signatures, and books composed of the signatures,
by unwinding rolled webs of printed material and collating the unwound web
material. This, as noted, avoids the need to attend and load many hoppers
as heretofore required for gathering signatures into groups, although
practice of the present invention is flexible enough to allow for
utilization of ordinary hopper supply, preserving an investment. In fact,
as will be appreciated from the disclosure, the invention fulfills another
objective which is to introduce a new way of making books by using and
therefore conserving known equipment.
Nonetheless, it was recognized from the beginning that it would be
necessary from time to time to splice the trailing end of an exhausted web
to the leading end of a fresh web as in the instance of producing
magazines circulated to millions of readers. This splice is made at the
inception of the production system, long before completion of the book.
The splice involves overlapped pages representing an imperfect signature
which we recognized as possibly being a flaw in the conceptual production
system we wanted to reduce to practice. One though was to admit the flaw
in the idea of a splice and accept the obvious proposal of stopping the
machine, re-loading and starting up again, a thought which acquired some
standing until we realized that our own calipering practice was the
answer: make the splice, using a splicing fixture if necessary for a long
splice to assure adequate lag time, then caliper for the books containing
the imperfections, using caliper response to eject the imperfect books.
Consequently, we were able to implement a further objective, namely, a
continuous system.
Under the present invention, in the preferred mode of practice, printed
webs of double-page width are unwound from rolls and accurately collated
or registered in head-to-foot relation (pagination) by means of register
pins fitting register holes at one edge of each web. A line or bead of
glue is applied between the webs longitudinally, establishing an interlock
which holds the registry. The webs as thus joined are fed to a cutting
cylinder which severs the webs transversely at repeat lengths.
The bead of glue is slightly off center inasmuch as we want the register
openings to be presented at a lap edge of a folded signature. To this end
the severed sections are delivered to a folder, which folds the sheets
along the glue line to create a signature. The presence of the glue,
wetting the sheets, facilitates folding.
The resultant signature consisting of the folded sheets has a glued
backbone. The signature is fed from the folder to a lap opener of known
form where the glue-backed signature is divaricated to fit a saddle
conveyor to which it is delivered as an incident to divarication.
Other signatures may be added upstream or downstream of the point of
delivery of the glue-backed signature and are gathered into a book on the
saddle conveyor. The book group is calipered for the presence of a
signature having a splice. Thereafter the signature group is conveyed to a
saddle stitcher.
In the instance of using a saddle stitcher, if an imperfect signature
having a splice is detected, the stitcher heads are disabled for that
particular signature group. The signature group containing the imperfect
signature is ejected.
After passing the stitcher head, the bound signatures are delivered to a
trimmer where the lap edge containing the register holes is separated as
waste. The head and foot may also be trimmed.
The preferred mode of production may be varied, of course, and other modes
of production may be employed. Therefore, other and further objects of the
present invention will be apparent from the following description and
claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of
illustration show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the
principles thereof and what is now considered to be the best mode
contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the
invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be made as
desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present
invention or from the subject matter of the claims.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a signature gathering machine constructed
in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlargement of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view substantially on line 3--3 of FIG.
2;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic views showing an extension of the present
invention:
FIG. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6--6 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is an end elevation on a reduced scale substantially on the line
7--7 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a detail elevation showing the sheet grippers;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary elevation similar to FIG. 8 showing the manner in
which the sheet grippers are operated;
FIG. 10 is a partly diagramatic and partly schematic drawing of the means
employed under the present invention to make signatures and produce books
therefrom;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the roll stand and the knife delivery means;
FIG. 12 is an elevation of means employed to transfer sheet material from
the knife delivery to the folder;
FIG. 13 is a side elevation of a delivery cylinder;
FIG. 14 is an assembly view of a folder, a signature feeder and a signature
opener;
FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C are sectional views showing the sequence of
signature delivery;
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the caliper;
FIG. 17 is an elevation of the stitcher head;
FIG. 18 is a fragmentary perspective view of a trimmer and associated
collater;
FIG. 19 is an elevational view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG.
18;
FIGS. 20 through 24 are views showing the steps of book production;
FIG. 25 is a detail schematic view of a selector means;
FIG. 26 is a detail view of means for splicing;
FIG. 27 is a diagrammatic view of a modified form of floor plan;
FIGS. 28 and 29 are schematic views of modified book flow; and
FIG. 30 presents plan views of another form of book production possible
under the present invention.
While the form of machine shown in FIG. 1 is disclosed in terms of flat
gathering of signatures in a demographic sense, either from an A pocket or
a B pocket, nonetheless the principles may be applied to a single hopper,
the B pocket, FIG. 2, containing a supply of sheets to be fed rapidly to a
conveyor. Since the construction and operating principles are identical
for both feeder pockets, whether signatures are fed or plain sheets are
fed, we will first describe in detail the B pocket arrangement and then we
will describe how the invention may be used for demographic signature
gathering.
The supply of sheets will be contained in a forwardly and downwardly
inclined hopper 10, FIG. 6, characterized by a bottom support plate 12 and
a forward stop plate 14. The bottommost sheet in the stack is to have the
leading edge thereof presented to one of two gripper means 20-1 and 20-2,
FIG. 8. The gripper means 20-1 are carried on a rock shaft 22-1, and the
gripper means 20-2 are carried on a rock shaft 22-2, FIGS. 2 and 8 which
rotate with a cylinder or disc 25, of which there are two, FIG. 2,
constituting the extracting cylinder. Advantageously the sheet is
presented to the gripper by a suction cup 26 supplied by a conduit 27.
Before describing in detail the distinctive structure and functional
characteristics of the present invention, it is appropriate to consider
the known construction and operation of the gripper fingers 20-1 and 20-2
carried by the discs 25. Each such finger and its associated parts are
identical, and attention is now directed to FIG. 8 wherein it will be
observed that each finger or gripper is normally in an open position with
respect to a flat anvil or plate 28 carried on the disc 25. This is the
condition prevailing at the time a gripper finger is approaching the
exposed edge (or backbone) of the sheet (or signature) adjacent the front
of the supply hopper 10, but the concurrent event is that the gripper
finger is then to be moved immediately to a closed position to clamp the
edge of the sheet to the opposed anvil surface 28. It will be appreciated
that this is an accurately timed operation as will be apparent from the
description to follow.
There is a gripper finger on one disc 25 directly opposite and paired with
an identical gripper finger on the other disc as shown in FIG. 2. Each
gripper finger is supported by a bracket 29, FIG. 8, which in turn is
clamped to the related rock shafts 22-1 and 22-2 carried by and extending
between the discs 25. The supporting rock shafts extend parallel to the
main drive shaft 30 to which the discs 25 are keyed or otherwise affixed
for rotation therewith. Thus, rotation of the shaft 30, through a drive
chain 31, FIG. 3, is effective to rotate the discs 25, and the rock shafts
which carry the gripper finger assemblies are carried along in a planetary
sense.
A third disc 25-3 is carried by shaft 30, FIG. 2, and this disc carries
means including gears for oscillating the rock shafts 26-1 and 26-2 which
support the grippers, as will now be described.
Each rock shaft is provided at one end, outboard of disc 25-3 with a pinion
gear 29, FIGS. 8 and 9, as mentioned. Each pinion is meshed with a segment
gear 33. Each such segment gear 33 is pivotally supported on a stub shaft
34, FIG. 9, supported on the left-hand side of disc 25-3 as viewed in FIG.
2, and is biased by a spring 35 anchored at one end to a pin 36 on the
segment gear and at the opposite end to a projecting ear 38 on a hub
element 39 keyed to the disc 25-3 for rotation therewith. This arrangement
prevails for each segment gear.
Each segment gear as 33 has a cam follower 40 thereon located between the
pivotal mounting of the segment gear and the end thereof presenting the
segment gear teeth. The cam followers 40, of which there are two, one for
each of the segment gears, travel in aa revolving sense about and in
contact with a stationary cam 41, FIG. 9, mounted on the inside face of
the side plate of the machine. The general contour of this cam presents a
long lobe 41L and a shorter dwell 41D, FIG. 9.
Each spring 35 is effective, when the follower 40 rides on the cam dwell
41D, to pivot the segment gear inward toward the axis of disc 25-3
imparting rotation to the pinion 29, causing the gripper finger as 20-2 to
pivot in a closing direction toward the related anvil 28. This action
takes place at a time when a signature or sheet as S1, FIG. 8, is in
temporary holding position, presented by the suction cup, whereupon the
two activated fingers 20-2 (one on each disc 25) grab the presented edge
of the thus positioned sheet and transfer the sheet from the supply hopper
to the extracting cylinder. Continued rotation of the extracting cylinder
carries the sheet along until the cam follower of the activated gripper
finger encounters the lobe 41L of the cam 41, FIG. 9, whereupon each
corresponding segment gear is oscillated in a direction opposite to that
induced initially by the spring 35, manifest in an opening movement of the
gripper finger which releases the signature.
It was mentioned that the suction cup 26 (of which there may be as many as
six) is supplied by a conduit 27. The suction cups are carried on a
support bar (not shown) supported for swinging motion on a rock shaft 40,
FIG. 6. The rock shaft 40 at one end is provided with a depending arm 42,
having a cam follower 43 tensioned against a cam 44 by a spring 45. The
cam is fixed to shaft 30 to rotate therewith, and has a lobe 44L, there
being two such lobes 180.degree. apart, FIG. 7.
When a lobe 44L is presented to the cam follower 43, the rock shaft 40 is
rocked clockwise as viewed in FIG. 6 shifting the suction cups upward to
engage the underside of the lowermost sheet or signature in the hopper and
concurrently vacuum is e | | |
